Lik-Sang, you will be missed. Sony flexes its muscles
by Nick Doerr 
{ Oct 25th 2006 at 12:30PM }
The import junkies all know that Lik-Sang has been closed down thanks to multiple Sony lawsuits concerning sales across continents (mainly Europe) that break Trade Mark laws. Sales of the PSP. Yes, the PSP. You'd think Sony would love to let those puppies sell. But you know, you really have to wonder how much anti-Sony propaganda this creates. Just look at this quote from the press release: "The company is currently looking into available options to combat Sony's cynical attempt to disrupt the successful online business again, gain total market control, and garner publicity." Wow, now that's a slap in the face. Sony didn't rule in Sony's favor. Europe did. If Sony thought it was wrong, that's one thing (because really, it makes no sense), but if the judges of Europe deemed it wrong, then, well, perhaps Europe has a much stricter policy than we know. Heck, Lik-Sang "professional" representatives call Sony "The Empire". They may have a great website, but come on, you can give Play-Asia a shot. And Lik-Sang, don't name names (near the bottom of the article, gents). We're not in the second grade. We don't care who bought what from you that works for Sony. Like we said -- they didn't rule against you. Europe did. While Sony did indeed file for the suit, which was a pretty lame move (even though I've never bought any import items -- don't really need to), it was the UK that ruled in their favor. Pretty soon, we're sure Lik-Sang will reopen for trade between America and Asia, but somehow filter out Europe. A shame, really, but Sony hasn't been all that kind to Europe lately anyway. In all, for shame, Sony. But just a little. This isn't a very good day for import gamers, but for everyone else, it's easy to shrug it off. And, really, Sony had to sue someone. They were sick of being on the receiving end -- wanted to reverse roles for once. It's a joke. Don't hate.
Oh! Have another taste of this news here. Now that's spin. Also makes Lik-Sang look like a bunch of blubbering crybabies.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
microdot @ Oct 25th 2006 12:41PM
i still dont get the big deal. lik-sang broke the law. its pretty simple. we arent talking about mrs jones downloading a single mp3... we are talking about a large scale business concept that broke trademark laws. how sony is in the wrong for stepping up and protecting their shareholders and trademarks, i have no idea. then again... when the simpletons have a voice, they usually make asses out of themselves, so the finger pointing really isnt a shock.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 1:30PM
Here's my view on the whole ordeal. Why is it only Lik-Sang? They must have done something wrong. Why not PlayAsia? I think Lik-Sang was having financial troubles anyway, wanted to close their doors and found it convenient to blame Sony. They wanted to Martyr themselves for whatever upstart the guys that worked there will start up next. They will probably campaign that Sony can't keep them down and try to use it as a marketing ploy. Of course, they canceled all the orders, so there is either a lot of stock sitting around or they didn't have it in the first place. It's a fishy situation and I think Sony is getting blamed for something that may not totally be on their shoulders.
AG @ Oct 25th 2006 1:44PM
If you google Lik-Sang, you will see that in the past Sony is not the only company to come after them. Nintendo and Microsoft did as well.
Will @ Oct 25th 2006 1:55PM
Nick, that was well written. If you saw the post on joystiq (I'm assuming you did, heh), and read the comments, a ton of people feel as if they should boycott Sony for this horrible, oh so horrible deed.
Hopefully the entire internet doesn't rage against you :D
Foppe @ Oct 25th 2006 2:22PM
Maybe Sony will learn that Europe does NOT like to wait for system launch as they believe one day.
Until then, they keep assraping Europe.
Edge of Blade @ Oct 25th 2006 2:36PM
Doerr, I know that I come here a lot as a 360 fanboy, but you have my respect for today. Well written article.
I still disagree that Sony had to do this or should have done this. In fact, they should have known what cutting out Lik-Sang from the picture was going to do to their image in the EU.
"Sony fucked up" is the long and short of it, but this was a fair defense of Sony. But, let's face it...copyright was NEVER the issue here and to throw that on the suit is just adding insult to injury.
TheGuyNextDoor @ Oct 25th 2006 2:42PM
wow, that was a whole 4 posts in a row that seemed level-headed and objective! Maybe there is still hope for the internet after all! lol
It's funny how clear the divide is in internet opinion between the hardened gamer who likes to purchase his/her wares ahead of schedule through questionable means, and the more business-savvy poster who understands the ways of the business world and appreciates all the cogs that make the great machine work.
Sony fought for their rights, Europe agreed.
If Lik-Sang don't like it, they should have pulled Sony products at the first sign of trouble, instead of continuing to flount it in their faces.
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 2:43PM
Here's the thing... No, sony didn't rule against Lik-sang, they just filed the suit.... in several countries.... all at one time.... and only against Lik-sang... who they've had a long standing rivalry with.
I don't think anyone in their right mind would blame the judges for doing their job, but I also think it's clear that Sony didn't file the suit to protect it's customers from the big bad importer, they filed the sut(s) as an attack on a company they considered an enemy. They ONLY went after Lik-Sang, and they're not the only importer, just one of the largest. They had also previously sold modchips, which was what put them on Sony's radar in the first place.
All in all, Sony used their resources to drive a much smaller company into the ground based on what ammounts to little more than a personal vendetta. It was a raw deal.
PS Nick,
nicely written... not perfect, but it was far from "hooray! Sony vanquished evil!". This wasn't a "smiley faced penis article" (see comment #35 on Microsoft whines, sues Sony... now that's just sad") Good job on breaking away from the blind fanboyism of articles gone by.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 2:49PM
"Maybe Sony will learn that Europe does NOT like to wait for system launch as they believe one day.
Until then, they keep assraping Europe."
-------------------------------------------
Let's look at how things are shaping up for Australia. I use this as an example because it fits the exact model that has happened in the past.
From Gamasutra: "Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox 360 has become the fastest selling video game console in Australia, having sold more than 100,000 units since its launch seven months ago. [...] the Australian launch of the Xbox 360 did not take place until March"
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11409
While 100,000 units may not sound like a whole lot for 7 months, it was more than any other console in history. Australia is picking up a huge gaming community. This tells Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and everyone else that they will still sell systems in paramount in these regions even if they release 4-5 months later. If the sales hadn't been so well, they might actually try to include them in the original November launches, especially if they know the gaming culture there is going to accept it. This falls right into the whole controversy a few weeks back when Sony was berated for saying that Europe will wait, because they always have. (And they have...and still buy the systems. According to sales figures.) Nobody lied here, but fanboys hate to hear the truth.
So to the contrary,_according_to_the_actions_ of Europe, they don't mind waiting. You can scream and holler all you want, but when manufacturers delay PAL releases and you still buy them in mass numbers your only sending one message.
microdot @ Oct 25th 2006 3:00PM
"Sony didn't file the suit to protect it's customers from the big bad importer"
right... they filed suit to protect their stockholders, company, trademarks, and licensing terms. you forget there are two (or more) sides to every story. where is the story about how lik-sang violated sonys licensing and fucked over the rest of the companies that were waiting patiently for the release to come about so they could sell in the uk? do you not think that it is penalizing those companies by allowing that to take place? good companies that sell the product as licensed?
"They ONLY went after Lik-Sang, and they're not the only importer, just one of the largest."
ever cracked a book? heard of the trickle-down effect? you dont waste 4 billion dollars suing hundreds of tiny little companies. you find the largest, and slam their nuts in a vice. the little guy gets scared, and runs away. mission accomplished. this is done in EVERY aspect of every business around the world.
"All in all, Sony used their resources to drive a much smaller company into the ground based on what ammounts to little more than a personal vendetta. It was a raw deal."
hilarious. personaly vendetta or no personal vendetta... sony wouldnt have been able to do squat had lik-sang not BROKEN THE LAW.
why is this such a hard concept for people to grasp?
chillski @ Oct 25th 2006 3:13PM
i just hope all the people that had orders in with lik-sang didnt get totally ripped off because of this.
and honestly micro is right, if there were able to shut them down they were breaking the law. and hey thats what those fkers get for charging a 1000 dollars for a ps3 !!!!!
ndoerr @ Oct 25th 2006 3:50PM
Thanks guys! This is probably the best thread of comments we've had in a while. I actually got a call earlier today from my Nintendo-fanboy friend (trust me -- you don't get much more hardcore Nintendo than this guy) and was slamming this story in my face. I told him what I wrote (not verbatim, but you know) and he backed off a little.
And @ What The Geek -- thanks. The smiley faced penis metaphor opened my eyes.
Keep up the good reading/commenting everyone!
Stefano V @ Oct 25th 2006 3:59PM
Glad some people see that Sony wasn't truly to blame abou th whole issue. Lik Sang broke the law so therefore they got punished for it. It basic pricipal. I agree with one person. Maybe Lik Sang was having finical problem. and why refune people there money? why not instead ship the stuff to them because if they do have any stock they really can't return it really or if they do they will get charged with fee for restocking, shipping, processing fees etc and so one which is rather not that good of an idea for them. I also don't blame sony. Sony did what it needed to do in order to protect its company and its trademarks. Most however dont'/won't see it that way
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 4:13PM
Show of hands - Who here thinks OJ was innocent?
The fact of the matter is the person (or company) with the bigger better legal team wins. Period. Sony won this case on the merits of their legal budget, not on merrits of Justice. I'm not saying Lik-Sang did no wrong. I'm not saying they are complete angels here, I'm just saying that Sony did this for the wrong reasons. If a court decides Lik-Sang's actions are wrong, then those actions should be stopped, not the whole company. Sony went into this trying to squash the company, not just their actions. It was a misuse of the legal system.
microdot @ Oct 25th 2006 4:52PM
@What The Geek
HOLY REACHING!! where in the HELL did you come up with that???
sony stopped illegal sales. the eu court agreed. neither sony, nor the court demanded lik-sang to shut their doors. they did that of their own will.
how is this tough to get people? their entire business model is based on illegal trade. they got caught. rather than be reamed up the ass in prison, they closed their doors. what part of this dont you understand? is it the international laws that you can't comprehend? is it the word ILLEGAL? wipe the drool from your chins and start thinking rather than being mindless crybabies.
Aex @ Oct 25th 2006 4:53PM
Actually What The Geek, a murder trial and a civil case are completely different. It couldn't be proven beyond resonible doubt that OJ killed that woman, but in his civil trial responsible doubt wasn't needed to find him in the wrong. All his money couldn't stop him from paying out his ass in his civil trial.
Just accept it, Lik-Sang got pwned. They did something wrong, and they had to pay for it. Here is my favorite quote:
Says Sony's unnamed spokesperson, "The law is clear; grey importing PS2, PSP or PS3 into the EU, without the express permission of SCE is illegal. Therefore, we will utilize the full scope of the law to put a stop to any retailers who chose to do this."
Aex @ Oct 25th 2006 4:55PM
Sorry... I made a mess of that OJ thing. What I was trying to say was.. "Reasonible doubt wasn't enough to save OJ in the civil case".
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 4:55PM
"If a court decides Lik-Sang's actions are wrong, then those actions should be stopped, not the whole company."
-----------------------------------------------------
The court didn't order Lik-Sang to close. They closed on their own. Do you understand this? Sony may have sued them, but they didn't go to Korea and lock the doors. All the ruling did was make it illegal for Lik-Sang to export to Europe. They could have remained in business, recouped their losses for licensing concerns (heaven knows they probably made enough money off everyone to do so) and continued business as usual. Note it would be without European exports, but it's still in business. Just because they decided to quit does not warrant finger pointing. It was a childish move.
Sammy, "Mom! Lucy stole my candy from my jar!"
Mom, "Well then, Lucy is no longer allowed in your room and can only take from the candy jar in the living room."
Lucy, "Aww, that's unfair." /commitsuicide
I guess it's Sammy's fault for telling.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 5:00PM
Sorry for the double post but this had to be said:
"The fact of the matter is the person (or company) with the bigger better legal team wins. Period."
Tell that to McDonalds when that lady spilled coffee in her lap. I'm sure she had tremendous amounts of cash on hand.
Saying that the bigger company always wins is a load of crap. Have you seen some of the lawsuits against big business that are won everyday?
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 5:12PM
Aparently I was unclear with what I meant in my last post so let me revise a bit.
Lik-Sang did something wrong, and was found guilty. When that's the only sentance here you look at it sounds fair.
When you look at the whole story though, it becomes a bit less fair. I'm well aware that they weren't closed down due to court order. They also didn't close 'cause they felt like it.... they were financially drained due to legal expenses. Even if you never show up in court, being sued in several countries can be a costly affair. Sony had the resources to file the suits, Lik-Sang didn't have the resources to fight back. Sony's intention here wasn't to stop them from committing any crimes, Sony's intent here was to tax their budget and run them into the ground. Their intentions were immoral, and that's why I count this a misuse of the judicial system. It's my understanding that a multinational legal effort will typically be taken one country at a time. Why? What if you loose the first trial? Then the precedent is set for the rest - why keep bleeding money into a lost cause? Sony went all out with a multinational attack on Lik-Sang KNOWING that they wouldn't be able to handle it.
As for the OJ reference I am well aware that he was fined in the civil case. I was using it to draw a paralell for those among us who may not have thought of this case from the perspective of "Sony bought a victory". OJ was able to hire a good lawyer, and as such was able to get out of criminal charges despite strong evidence against him. Sony was able to run Lik-Sang into the ground by suing across several countries - because they had the budget to do so.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 5:29PM
"Even if you never show up in court, being sued in several countries can be a costly affair. Sony had the resources to file the suits, Lik-Sang didn't have the resources to fight back."
So, Lik-Sang to you was in the good? There is a reason these lawsuits came to surface. If Lik-Sang would have played by the rules in the first place, they wouldn't be faced with a multi-country lawsuit. Even if they were and could afford to go to only a few, why would you ignore Europe? I'd say they were the one's saying "F-you" to Europe. They screwed with the wrong people and lost.
Let's say someone was making a profit off your name: WTG, Inc.
This store (Lucy-Spring, Inc.) put your name next to their half grade equipment to get their customers to buy it.
You want revenge, and you have some cash laying around to send this company on the biggest wild goose chase in the world. Is it somehow your fault?
microdot @ Oct 25th 2006 5:35PM
geek... you still seem to have trouble grasping the very basic concept, and untangling it from your biased perspective.
fact: lik-sang was commiting a criminal act. (several actually)
fact: this costs sony money. lots of it.
what would you have sony do? ignore this? just keep forking over cash so a third company can continue to line their pockets with overpriced illegal items?
people that feel compassion for lik-sang either have their head shoved up their rectum, or a short memory span. maybe you have forgotten they have been sued by ALL THREE of the console companies already... or the fact that they were found guilty then as well... or how about the fact that when they were sued by microsoft, they pulled the exact same thing, by taking their website offline (i believe it was down for 3 weeks or so, but its been a while, and ive slept since then, so my memory is fuzzy) and crying about how m$ was suing them.... hell... they cried when nintendo sued them as well (both times).
if lik-sang had money problems, then MAYBE... just maybe... they shouldnt have been selling illegal items. MAYBE they should have been smart enough to learn from the first few dozen cases brought against them, to stop and go legit while they were ahead.
so... if you want to shed a tear for lik-sang and look like a baffoon, more power to you pal. but the rest of us can cut through the staged tears and crying from lik-sang as we have seen it several times before. it got old in 2002.
i openly applaud sony for doing the right thing by the people who will by their products, and the people who are HONESTLY trying to make a living selling their products. its one less assclowned company to deal with.
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 6:09PM
Andir2.0,
I'm a little confused - are you calling a PSP a piece of "half grade equipment "? Lik-Sang is an importer. They take products from one region and import them to other regions. They were sending Japanese psp's to Europe when that launch happened, and that's part of what got them in hot water now.
microdot,
Yes, Lik-sang did something illegal and got law-spanked for it. I don't agree with Sony's methods. I didn't care for MS or Nintendo's decision to go after them at the time either. I suppose what I ultimately have a problem with here is the tight stranglehold that MS, Nintendo, and Sony all keep on their products, and the legal measures they use to keep that hold in place. Let's say I go to Japan. While I'm there I see a DS in a color I can't get here in the states. So, I buy it, and go on my merry way. No one's going to break down my door when I get home and force me to give the DS back. So why then is it that I can't go onto a website and order that same DS and have it sent to me? We live in a very connected and globalized world, and some of the trade laws in place in all countries fly in the face of that fact. It's funny how Sony suddenly had a problem with this less than a month before the PS3 launches. They wanted to make sure that the 100,000 ps3's in japan stayed in japan. Personally, I think that if you live in Europe, and can't wait til march to buy a PS3, and are willing to put up w/ the hassels of owning a console from another region you should be able to do so. Sony's decision to take this to court had nothing to do w/ Lik-Sang costing them money, it had to do with keeping their control over where their hardware went.
lunatech @ Oct 25th 2006 6:17PM
Bottom line is Sony wants to set a precedence to all would-be retailers of their product to not circumvent their skewed pricing across the regions.
Basically, they want to come out ahead in the exchange rate for their upcoming cash hole known as the PS3. They want to charge the European market the even more obscene prices, and they want the channel of their products closed to those who they see fit.
Hipocracy in 2 ways:
-Sony uses international facilities to shop for the cheapest labor across the globe for their entire product, yet charge regions of it different prices.
-They boast their products are region-free...so long as you purchase it in your allowed region.
The small company is burned for this because they wanted to flex their legal muscle and set an example to all global market retaillers. Justify it all you want, but you the consumer gets hurt in the end.
Andir2.0 @ Oct 25th 2006 6:38PM
"I'm a little confused - are you calling a PSP a piece of "half grade equipment "?"
No, but look at it this way. Lets say for instance that you bought a coffee warmer from someone. That coffee warmer caught fire and burnt down your house. You go back to the company that made the coffee warmer to get your "just due". Now you find out that that coffee warmer wasn't meant to run on the voltage in your home. Someone created a low grade power converter and sold it with this coffee warmer under your name. The power converter caused the warmer to catch fire, thus burning down your house. The coffee warmer must maintain a consistant voltage to remain at just the right temperature. Any variance and the coil could wear out too quick and cause a fire. The manufacturer knew this and supplied a power supply that was capable of producing this stream of power. They back the adapter with the warranty of the product.
Unfortunately, the item you purchased wasn't using that power adapter. What do you do? You hide the fact that you weren't using the appropriate adapter and sue the manufacturer for damages. Let's say you get away with it. It now cost the manufacturer of your device more money because of something you did. How is that fair to the manufacturer? Yes, I doubt the power supply on the PSP will cause it to catch fire and burn down your house, but the point is that as the manufacturer, you can't risk that. Unless you can prove that your device was being used incorrectly, you have no defense. The person who imported your device has now abused the judicial system like you claim Sony is doing.
Now, this was probably the reason used to bring them down, but Sony, MS, and Nintendo have fought these guys before. Sony stepped up, not because of the PS3 mind you. Only the PSP was stated. (I'm using your logic here. Since the only thing mentioned in the article was the PSP and nothing else the company was doing might have hurt Sony one bit. Not even the mod-chip business.)
Lik-Sang got slapped hard, like they have in the past. They'll be back like the cockroaches they are and they'll be selling equipment, unlicensed games, and other devices just like they did before.
microdot @ Oct 25th 2006 6:48PM
What The Geek & lunatech....
unfortunately, your lack of knowledge on trade (specifically international trade) is showing int eh form of ignorance. i deal with this day in, day out, and have been for the better part of a decade and some change now.
things cost money. luna - it doesnt matter if sony manufactured the ps3 by slave workers on mars... it costs different rates to import... it costs different rates to allow the sale of the product in different countries... therefore, you get different msrp's across the board. not all countries have such high tariffs, taxes, port costs, etc... but there are several that cost substantially more. i design, manufacture, and distribute wheels for a living (think rap videos... 28" wheels on a escalade... etc) i cant get product into the uk as by the time the taxes are done and the merch is on the shelf at the local shop... the costs have risen so ridiculously high, that nobody in their right mind would buy them. (hence whey you dont see 26" wheels on every vehicle on the street as you do here in the us)
the majority of the crying i am seeing is about international trade laws... not sony. and how exactly does the consumer get hurt in the end???? they are missing out on having paid double the sticker price? they are missing out on having a piece of equipment with zero warranty? they are missing out on keeping cash flow with retailers in their own country who have legal rights to honestly sell the product? im sure the people that would have been able to grab a console before lik-sang took them away to sell in another country are appreciative as well.
trade laws are there for billions of reasons. by not having them, we would in turn be lining the pockets of communist countries like china that can drive labor costs to almost nil and sell to the world.
in this particular case... if sony had turned the other cheek and ignored lik-sang... the consumer would have purchased a console at a rate almost doubled what it would have sold for... it would have cost honest vendors in their area that follow the laws that sale... and the consumer would have been left with a product that had no warranty, and no recourse if the item were defective or had issues.
cry about it all you want people... but if you have a problem with sony protecting their trademarks, licensing, consumers, and stockholders, then you have a problem with the core of the business world. not merely sony. every international company has had to deal with this to some extent or another. it happens daily. people are just on a high about whining and crying about how evil sony is.
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 6:56PM
Andir2.0,
I see your logic, but I have a couple of issues with it. First of all, you said it yourself - I'm fairly certain that none of these power adaptors are going to cause anyone's house to burn down. That's not really the point though. If such a case were to come about, the psp itself would be inspected, power chord and all. It would come to light that you were using an imported system, and sony wouldn't be accountable. It's just as likely that some fool would break their power adaptor, go out and buy the wrong generic one at radioshack, and burn his house down. The law suit that would follow would be almost identical to the one where someone's imported power adaptor was at fault.
As for the PS3, Sony can't sue based on something that hasn't happend yet. So their choices were to wait until after their precious launch units were bought and redistributed by Lik-Sang, or take preemptive action and file a suit over the PSP. This way they were able to prevent the PS3's that Lik-Sang would have sold from leaving Japan. As I've said, they used the legal system to squash a smaller company and keep their hardware where they want it to be.
What The Geek @ Oct 25th 2006 7:13PM
"and how exactly does the consumer get hurt in the end???? they are missing out on having paid double the sticker price? they are missing out on having a piece of equipment with zero warranty?"
As I've said, if someone's willing to deal with the hassels of owning a console from another region, they should be able to do so.
I'm moderately well versed in trade law myself, and I maintain my position that trade laws the world over do not reflect the connected world we live in today. The only part I will agree with you on is that it could take money from a local merchant who's just trying to do their job. I don't think that means importing of this nature should be banned, I think it means that it should be an easier process for stores to import an item if they choose to. Yes, there'd be a higher fee associated with it because there would be more steps involved. The decision of whether to pay that fee or not should be up to the customer.
The core of the business world as you call it needs to change. Technology is advancing at a much faster rate than trade law, and the ultimate loosers are going to be the manufacturers. Lets take gaming as an example. If you remove all of the channels people use to import games, it's not going to stop them from wanting the games, it's just going to create software pirates. People that are willing to pay money for a game released exclusively in another region are at least paying into the product, where as those who mod their consoles and download the imports are just a drain on the industry as a whole. Chances are they won't stop there either. Maybe they modded their console to download and play an import, but since the console is already modded, maybe they'll start downloading domestic games too. The answer here doesn't lie in a tighter grip, it lies in a more dynamic trade system.
lunatech @ Oct 25th 2006 7:30PM
The unit itself is a constant price to Sony.
There are varying prices and such that shifts depending on the region you wish to physically sell the unit yes, thats true. Sony wants this, because they gain an edge in the price they charge in places like in Europe.
They fight for this because they have the ability to use the traditional distribution model to to their advantage, get to charge people more, and lock them to these prices.
That's changed -- at least in most cases for a lot of electronic products. In the global market, the cheapest price wins irregardless of where it's made. Why do people in California shop in either international sites, or other states? A good reason is they can avoid sales tax altogether which is a noticable difference in the price.
Sony is trying to lock this. They do not want their products to be distributed this way or else they lose the edge in the price skew in the conversion.
The bottom line is the consumer will want to pay the lowest possible price. Sony is using the law to bully little companies that try to provide the best prices.
The bottom line is the money - and they option to screw over Europe to charge more maybe to mitigate their losses. Sony wants both.
Irregardless - the consumer loses.
Luke Cashmore @ Oct 25th 2006 9:29PM
NO ONE HERE IMPORTS, YOURE ALL CRAZY. YOURE LOOKING AT ALL OF THE UPSIDES FOR SONY! FOR CHRIST SAKE OPEN YOUR EYES! THIS IS NOT COOL, COOL IS IMPORTING DEDICATION TO GET WHAT YOU WANT WHEN YOU WANT IT COZ YOU WANT IT BAD, THATS WHAT BEING A GAMER IS ABOUT! WAKE UP! THEYRE A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR COMPANY, WE'RE THE GUYS THEY RELY ON, THEY CANT HEAR YOU SAYING NICE THINGS ABOUT THEM SO DONT BOTHER!
GhettoNinja @ Oct 25th 2006 10:45PM
yeah, I don't think its any of you that really get the point here... Yeah, there are many ways both Lik-Sang and Sony made evils in this mess of lawsuits, but the truth is Sony didn't even give Lik-Sang a CHANCE to prove they were innocent. They sued in many different countries at the same time just to drive Lik-Sang out, and regardless if they won and could attend all court cases, they would still implore all sorts of heavy fees because of it. Either way, Sony would have outmuscled them in the end, and would reap the sweet rewards of the conversion of Euros to Yen. (seriously, go to a converter site and see for yourself... at current rates, if they charge €600 over $600, theres a 18,519.9 difference in yen or about $155.46)
Orestes @ Oct 26th 2006 12:51PM
Guys, remember where you're posting comments, it's obvious you're trying to revive a dead horse with a stick. Geek, I agree with everything you said in your comments. If someone has the money to spend and actually chooses to buy something without warranty and risk of malfunctioning just to have it ahead of time, then he should be allowed to do so. Sony is not protecting us from anything here. If anything they should be also after the people re-selling the soon to be bought PS3s on eBay, cause they are charging almost triple and people will buy them, why Sony doesn't protect them from this oh so horrible sin too? It's all a matter of free choice here. And people who were going to take this decision now won't be allowed to do so because they are taking money away from Sony and also taking away one more possible PS3 on store shelves come November. THAT is the real reason of this whole 'protect-the-consumer-from-himself' fiasco.
VanGuardian1 @ Oct 26th 2006 1:07PM
At least write the whole article, ps3fanboys.
Sony won by default in ALL of the hearings because Lik-Sang did not hire lawyers for ANY of them. I don't know if Lik-Sang was or was not breaking any laws, whether they were in the right or not was irrelevant here (they didn't perform anything morally wrong, to me), the legal costs of fighting courts on so many fronts would have put them out of business before any of the "court battles" finished. I'm quite sure Lik-Sang realized this, leading us to our current scenario. Btw, if LS were "thieves" as some people are trying to suggest, why are they refunding people's incomplete orders?
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